My Paradise of Bright Lights
by GACfan13
Summary: Its easy to say most SHIELD agents have bad back stories, some worse than others. This agent is no exception. Scars decide her life and remind her of the past; that's all she's ever known. But according to the man who traded in an eye patch for a pair of sunglasses, a team could help her learn differently.


Bright lights in the sky. I'm flying towards them, my eyes closing as the soothing music enters my ears. I'm in paradise; I never want to leave it. That's the problem. You get so caught up in a paradise you can't have, it kills you to come back to reality. You don't always die though, sometimes you just fall like the world around you. I know what that feels like all too well, but I still keep my head in the clouds. My its how I cope with my loss. A dead brother, forgotten parents, no friends, that's my life. That's why I need my paradise.

My mind is drawn from it as my right headphone is yanked from my ear. My teal eyes open and I look at the man in the sunglasses standing over me. I still wasn't used to them; the eye patch always suited him better, made him more of the menacing man he was. I look up at him lazily, wondering why I can't stay in my mind's little creation.

"Kira, you need to focus, this is an important mission," he tells me sternly. He can't be anything but stern and it bothers me. I'm no hippie, but I don't like the serious atmosphere I'm always in here. It chokes me, and the ex-director doesn't help. "Are you listening to me Kira?"

I take the other headphone out and nod. "Yes, Fury," I assure him, sitting up straighter in my seat. I watch the man walk back to the front of the room. I'm getting weird stares from my colleagues as he does, but I'm used to it. I space out a lot without meaning to during debriefings.

Fury has a soft spot for me and I know it. He knows about my past, my disheveled mental state, but also my skill. Not needing to pay attention to understand something is easy for me, but Fury likes to have things fair; therefore, I have to play by the rules. The look he has when he sees me tells me that he wants to help and understand, but both of us know he can't. I'm too far gone, at least that's what all the doctors I've been to say.

I glance down at my hands. They're tapping on my black work suit pants slowly. The teal paint on my nails hasn't chipped off yet from when I put it on the weekend previous. There are silver sparkles on top of the bright color that look like the bright lights in paradise. A small smile graces my lips as I look at them.

Looking up when Fury begins to speak louder, I begin to pay attention to the words. "However, there is another task. All of you have extraordinary powers and one of you will be joining The Avengers soon. You'll know by the end of the week. And whoever is going on the mission will know in two days," he explains before walking out.

The people at the table around me get up and follow in suit, leaving me to ponder my thoughts. _The Avengers? Fury wants someone new in The Avengers? _I think quizzically, _And he's considering me of all people?_ Quickly, I stand from my chair and run after SHIELD's ex-director. He turns as I yell his name.

"Kira, how can I help you?" he asks in his same monotone voice. He still has those stupid shades on that I can't stand. I hate not being able to see people eyes when I'm talking to them.

Snapping myself out of it again, I ask, "Are you honestly considering me for The Avenger's Initiative, Sir?" I was sure that he was only talking to the other people in the room because I was spaced out at this point, but I had to make sure.

Fury began walking and motioned for me to follow him, which I did. "Kira, as much as you don't believe it, you're a good agent and overall good person. Your past doesn't keep you from achieving that. I think being with The Avengers and making new friends will bring you back to who you were," he told me simply.

_Back to who I was. _I look down at my wrists and frown. I can't go back to the old me, its just not possible anymore. I don't notice at first, but Fury's line of vision had followed mine to the scars I'd been trying to get rid of for so long. "You don't have to let them dictate your life. They don't make you who you are anymore," Fury tells was the side of Fury that not a lot of people see, what I like to call the insightful granddad, which he kind of was no matter how much he denied it.

"I know, Fury," I state quietly, I turn my wrists back over so you can't see the old, faint, white lines on them. I remember all their stories too. Not many people know about them, and if they do, none of them say anything about them. A lot of people in the company have bad back stories and probably know why anyway. "Thank you."

I stop walking before turning around and start in the opposite direction of Fury. Taking a left, I take off in a sprint down the hall towards the exit. Out in no time and gaining speed as I go, I take a leap of faith once I'm outside and let instinct kick in. My muscles relax and I'm weightless. I soar into the air above the helicarrier that is currently in the water beneath me. The salt in the air becomes less noticeable the higher I fly. I spread my arms as I go further to the light of the sun.

Something flies by me at rocket speed, causing my black hair to fly to the side the figure went. I immediately turn to face what it is. There's something landing on the helicarrier below me that's practically shining in the sun's light. Worrying it could be an enemy of SHIELD, I plummet back down to the helicarrier, using all my power to force myself to go faster. I stop myself as I reach the deck and fly in front of the figure.

Its not just a figure though, its an Iron Man suit that more than likely has Tony Stark inside. A chuckle comes from the suit's speakers. "Did I scare you up there?" Tony's voice comes through after his chuckle stops.

"Not at all, Mr. Stark," I retort, crossing my arms over my chest. I turn to fly back into the air before Tony calls my name to stop me. "How do you know my name?"

The gold face plate on the mask retracts to show the billionaire's face. "You're on the list for the possible Avengers recruits," he informs me with a smirk. "What were you doing up there?"

I raise a confused eyebrow at Tony before answering his question, "I was relaxing." It wasn't really a lie either.

Now it was Tony's turn to raise an eyebrow. "I read your file. You can just fly willingly like that for however long you want?" he asks, giving me an intrigued look. I just nod. "How long have you been able to."

Thinking back, I can't remember a time I couldn't use my powers. "I'm not really sure; I guess I was born with them," I reply with a shrug. He doesn't seem content with the answer but I won't stick around to answer anymore questions he has.

I run to the edge of the deck before jumping off and going back into the air. The wind rushes through my black hair yet again and I sigh in content. All I hear is the swirl of the wind around me. I close my eyes in content as I spin through the air happily.

_This might be the first good week in a long time_, I think, flying through the clouds.


End file.
